


Family Is More Than Blood

by fiona_cat2004



Series: Family Is More Than Blood [1]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Engagement, F/M, Finn is clueless, Fluff, M/M, Not Canon Compliant
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-25
Updated: 2020-02-25
Packaged: 2021-02-28 05:54:20
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,554
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22888762
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fiona_cat2004/pseuds/fiona_cat2004
Summary: After the defeat of the First Order, Poe, Finn and Rey are in need of a break. They take on one final mission from Leia and discover some truths about family.This is a sequel of sorts to “Finding His Way” as characters from that story appear in this one but it is not necessary to read it first (although there are spoilers if you don’t!).
Relationships: Poe Dameron/Finn, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Series: Family Is More Than Blood [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1656739
Comments: 5
Kudos: 39





	Family Is More Than Blood

**Author's Note:**

> Just a fun story that takes place post-TRoS. StormPilot for me; some Reylo for my friend; and the reappearance of characters from my first story, “Finding His Way.”

Finn was trying to keep it together, but his two closest friends were fighting (again) and he was sick of it. After the Battle of Exegol, things had been wonderful. They were alive, they’d won, the First Order was in shambles … and now he couldn’t get through a single day without having to referee an argument between Poe and Rey. 

The problem was, people could not shut up about Kylo Ren. They came to General Dameron asking for reparations for what Supreme Leader Ren had done. Then Poe tried to explain that while yes, the Resistance sympathized with their plight, and yes, the Resistance wanted to do everything to help re-establish peace and prosperity in the Republic, they needed to talk to their senators, because the Resistance had no political power. And then Rey would complain that no one was focusing on the good that Ben (yes, she insisted on calling him Ben Solo) had done in the end and then Poe would roll his eyes, and Finn would have to step in before Rey tried to force choke him.

“I am tired of being stuck in the middle,” Finn told Poe one night as they were getting ready for bed. “You two need to work this thing out.”

“She’s too stubborn,” Poe insisted. Finn just gave him a look.

“Oh, right, _she’s_ the stubborn one.” 

Poe shrugged and said, “Is it my fault you have a knack for making friends with strong-willed people?”

“So you admit you’re stubborn, too?”

“Yes, I admit it. I not only admit it, I own it.” He kissed Finn’s nose. “You know it’s one of the reasons you admire me so much, my refusal to back down in the face of impossible odds. Face it, it’s the only reason we beat the First Order.”

Finn laughed. “I thought that was your colossal stupidity.” 

“Well, that, too.” Poe kissed him again, but Finn wasn’t going to be distracted so easily.

“You still need to talk this out with Rey,” he said. “I told you, I’m tired of this shit. Don’t make me pick a side, okay?”

Poe sighed. “I’ll try to talk to her tomorrow, but no promises.” He checked his data pad. “We’ve got a briefing at 0600. Let’s continue this in the morning, if that’s okay?”

“Fine by me. Night, babe.”

BB-8 beeped goodnight from its charger in the corner. “I said ‘babe,’ not BB,” Finn said, shaking his head. “Your droid’s almost as annoying as you.”

Poe pulled him in for one more kiss. “You know you love us,” he said, flicking off the light and crawling into bed. 

“Yeah,” Finn said as he slid in beside him. “Yeah, I do.”

********************  
Rey Skywalker preferred being alone these days. It was ironic, after all those years on her own on Jakku, but she was still mourning the loss of Ben and the only person who could even begin to understand what she was going through was Finn, who was so busy right now that he hated to bother him. They had their daily Force training session, but the rest of the time he was busy co-generaling with Poe, and she certainly couldn’t bring Ben up around Poe.

She had finished running her Jedi training course for the second time that day, but she still wasn’t ready to head back into camp. Too many people were still celebrating the demise of Kylo Ren and the rest of the First Order.

“Hey, got a minute?” She was surprised to see Poe heading her way, and even more surprised to see that Finn was not with him.

“Of course. What’s up?”

“We’ve got another delegation from the Inner Rim coming in this afternoon, and I just wanted to talk to you about … well, about …” Poe was not normally this awkward and she didn’t need the Force to know what he was getting at.

“Did Finn ask you to talk to me?” She crossed her arms.

“Yes,” Poe said. “He did. Look, he’s tired of us bickering …”

“We do not bicker,” she said firmly. “We discuss.”

“Okay, but we discuss very loudly and it makes him uncomfortable.”

Rey felt her face soften. “I know,” she said. She felt bad for Finn, who just wanted everyone to be happy, especially the two most important people in his life. “I just …”

Poe closed his eyes. “I know, I know, you wish people would stop focusing on all the bad stuff he did … but Rey, except for that bit at the end where he saved your life, it was all bad stuff.” He held up his hands to keep her from responding. “I am grateful that he saved you, believe me, I am, but that doesn’t mean he gets a pass for everything else he did.”

“But …”

“No,” Poe went on, his voice already rising. “Just … no.”

“I’m not asking you to forget everything that he did, just to forgive him,” she blurted out.

He shook his head. “You don’t get it, do you? I can’t forgive him! I can’t ever forgive him for what he did! To Luke’s students. To his own father. To Leia. To Finn. To the whole goddamned galaxy. To .. .to me.”

“He redeemed himself,” she insisted. Why couldn’t anyone understand that? He had sacrificed himself, not just to defeat Palapatine but to save her life. He had literally given his life for hers.

“Maybe he did,” Poe said bitterly. “But it isn’t enough. Not for me and not for anyone else.”

“I know he hurt you …”

“Hurt me? He damn near broke me, Rey!” His voice cracked and he turned away. “You know what? I’m done. I’m done arguing with you about this. We are never going to see eye to eye on this and I’m not going to hurt Finn anymore. So I’m going to hold my tongue and I’d advise you to do the same. Because he asked me not to make him pick a side.”

He walked away without looking back at her. “And we both know he’d choose you,” she whispered. She couldn’t imagine her life without her best friend Finn in it, especially now that she’d lost Ben, but she was under no illusion that he’d put their friendship ahead of what he had with Poe. 

********************  
Poe Dameron was exhausted. Every damn day there was more and more to do, and even with Finn and Rey and Connix and Rose and everybody else around pitching in, he never quite got caught up. How did Leia do this by herself? It didn’t help that the rest of Black Squadron were out flying missions and he hadn’t had a chance to fly in nearly two weeks.

“General?” He looked up to see Connix tossing a data chip onto his desk. “I found this while I was finishing filing away the last of General Organa’s things. It was addressed to you.”

He picked up the chip. “Priority?”

Connix shrugged. “I think it’s a personal message. There were no encryption codes or anything. It just said ‘Give to Poe.’”

He checked his data pad. Twenty minutes until the next meeting. He slid the chip into the data port and braced himself to hear Leia’s voice. When the message was done, he removed the chip and put it in his pocket. This might just be exactly what they needed.

***********************  
“A mission? From Leia?” Finn was intrigued but wary. “And just you, me, and Rey are going?”

“Yeah,” Poe said, shoving another bite of food into his mouth. They were on a lunch break between meetings and had maybe another five minutes before they had to get back to work.

Finn sat back. “Are you sure about this? I mean, you two aren’t going to kill each other or anything?”

“Of course not,” Poe scoffed. “I think this is perfect. Half our problem is we’ve been so stressed out we’re getting on each other’s nerves. This will give us a chance to relax and just … be us. Not the Jedi, not the Generals. Just Poe and Finn and Rey.”

It did sound nice, but Finn was still skeptical. “And exactly how are we going to find the time to get away? We barely have time to eat and shower as it is.” The timer dinged on his data pad as if to emphasize his point. They had five minutes to get to the next meeting.

“Don’t you worry about that,” Poe said, grabbing a piece of fruit and stuffing it in his pocket. 

**********************  
“Important Resistance Business,” Rey said. “You’re just going to walk in and say we’re going to disappear for a week on Important Resistance Business and expect everyone to just say ‘Okay, have fun?’”

“Why not,” said Poe. “Who’s going to argue with us? We’re the _Generals_.”

She shook her head and looked imploringly at Finn. “Don’t look at me,” he said. “I told him it was a stupid idea, too. But how could I say no to that face?”

Poe batted his eyes until Rey collapsed in laughter. “I think that only works on you, Finn. But okay, we’ll give it a shot. What is this secret mission, anyway?”

Poe pulled the data chip out of his pocket and handed it to her. “Here. Finn’s seen it already, so hang onto it when you’re done. We’ll need to put the coordinates into the Falcon’s computer before we leave.”

**********************  
Three days later, they boarded the Millenium Falcon, just the three of them and BB-8. Surprisingly, no one had kicked up much fuss when Poe announced that he and Finn and Rey were going away for a few days (although a few people had expressed surprise that Rey was part of the mission, for some reason). Finn was feeling much better about the whole idea now that it was really happening. Poe and Rey hadn’t fought once since the mission came up and he was hoping that they were over the rough patch. 

There was one awkward moment when both of them tried to claim the pilot’s seat, but when Finn shot her a look, Rey backed down. _Thank you_ , he mouthed at her. He knew Poe was itching to fly and it would do him a world of good to take the controls on this mission. Rey could fly whenever she wanted, but Poe had too many responsibilities these days.

Once Poe was happily ensconced in the cockpit, Finn motioned for Rey to join him in the main cabin. “Call us if you need anything, flyboy,” he said. Poe just waved a hand vaguely in their direction, “accidentally” making a somewhat rude gesture. 

Finn slid into the booth around the holochess table. Rey sat across from him. “Thanks for letting him fly,” he told her. “He needs this.”

“I understand,” she said.

“And … thanks for cooling it with the Ben stuff,” Finn went on cautiously. 

She looked down. “Poe made it abundantly clear that he and I are never going to see eye to eye on that issue.” She tried not to sound bitter, but it was hard.

“Hey,” Finn said, taking her hand. “I know it’s not easy for you, but … it’s even harder for him. You’re Force sensitive; even when Kylo — sorry, _Ben_ — messed with your mind, you had some protection. Poe didn’t have that. Doesn’t have that.” He sighed. “He still has nightmares. Like, really bad nightmares. Ones where it takes him a few minutes to realize where he is; that it’s me, not Kylo Ren, beside him. Every time you defend Ben, it makes it worse, I think.”

“I didn’t realize it was so bad,” Rey said, closing her eyes. “I’m sorry.”

“Just don’t tell him I told you,” Finn said. “The great Poe Dameron has an image to protect.”

She huffed. “The great Poe Dameron has an ego the size of a small nebula.”

“Yeah,” Finn chuckled. “Ain’t it great?”

*************************  
The Falcon was on autopilot, so there really was no need for anyone to be in the cockpit right now, but Rey settled herself in the pilot’s seat anyway. The boys had gone to bed and she wanted to give them a bit of privacy, even though she knew they had probably fallen asleep right away, given how tired they both looked. She sat cross-legged in the seat and closed her eyes.

“Be with me,” she muttered. “Be with me.”

She was getting better at summoning the Force and the spirits of the Jedi who had come before her, but she had one particular person in mind tonight, one she had yet to contact. She relaxed, breathing deeply and smoothly, letting her mind open and spread out into the galaxy around her. She could feel the bright spark of Finn’s presence, somewhat dimmed by sleep, but still a clear beacon to her Force-sensitive mind. Poe’s presence was blurrier, less noticeable, entwined with Finn’s so closely that she wouldn’t have noticed it if she didn’t know him so well. Other than that, there was nothing else nearby, just a vague impression of the vastness of space and the multitudes of life that teemed within it.

Slowly, she teased apart the threads of the galactic tapestry, seeking the brighter threads that led to people and places strong in the Force. As the ship sailed through the darkness, she followed one thread after another, searching for the one that meant so much to her. “I know you’re out there, Ben,” she whispered. But once again, none of the threads led where she wanted to go, and after several hours, she roused herself from the pilot’s seat and sought her own bunk. She slept soundly, though; she had all the years of her life before her to find him, and she knew it was simply a matter of time.

****************************  
Gael 23 was a small moon orbiting a sullen purple gas giant. Five of the moons were inhabited, with Gael 7 designated as the capital of the colony. It was Gael 7 that controlled access to the system, and it was full of bureaucrats.

They docked the Falcon at the spaceport, waiting their turn for processing. “Well, this is fun,” said Poe after they finally got a message indicating that they had moved from number four to number three in the queue … after waiting for an hour and half.

Finn shrugged. Having spent most of his life under the First Order, he was used to bureaucracy, and he knew there was no use fretting about it. They’d get in when they got in.

Rey was fiddling with BB-8’s antenna, which the droid had managed to damage while roaming around the ship, hunting for rogue porgs. Poe put his feet up on the dashboard and eventually fell asleep. He was still catching up on sleep, Finn knew, and he didn’t begrudge him the rest, even though Rey made a face when he started to snore lightly.

Finally, after three and a half hours, the comm pinged. “You have moved to the first position in the processing queue. Stand by for further instructions.”

Poe snapped to attention and Rey put away her tools. Finn stretched his arms and got ready to go.

They were instructed to leave the ship and proceed to a counter where they were each given a set of forms to fill out. By hand. On paper. They were then directed to take the forms to another counter where the information would be entered into the computer system before they could move on to the actual customs office.

Finn hated paperwork. The First Order had been full of it, but at least it had been easy enough to fill out, since most of the time all he had to do was input his designation and the rest was automatically filled out for him. The Resistance had paperwork, too, but Connix and her staff pre-filled most of it and just passed it on to the Generals for signatures. Gael 7 paperwork was in a class of its own.

“I don’t know half of the information they’re asking for,” he muttered to Rey.

“Neither do I,” she replied. 

“Just fill in what you can and leave the rest blank,” Poe suggested. “If they really need to know, they’ll ask for clarification; if it’s not important, who cares?”

So Finn and Rey answered as best they could (Finn was pleased to note that Poe had left quite a few blank spots on his own forms) and they passed the sheaf of papers to the clerk at the second counter.

She was dispassionate and incredibly slow as she perused each page and began inputting the information into her computer terminal. Every time she came to a blank slot, she made a little sigh that implied that only uncultured barbarians didn’t know all the minutiae that Gael 7 found so important. Still, she had no problems until she came to Finn’s paperwork.

“This is incomplete,” she said, shoving it back at him.

“No more incomplete than hers,” he said, pointing at Rey.

The clerk tapped imperiously at a blank line at the very top of the page. “No family name.” She shook her head. “We cannot process paperwork without a full, proper name. Our system will not accept single names. Please provide your family name.”

Rey shrugged at him. She’d started using the Skywalker name after her visit to Tatooine, but Finn still went by a single name.

“I … don’t have one,” he admitted. “I don’t know who my family is … was … whatever.”

The clerk pursed her lips. “I cannot process paperwork without a complete name,” she insisted.

“He. Doesn’t. Have. One,” Poe told the clerk, but she was not impressed. “I am sorry,” she said, although she clearly was not sorry in the least. “I cannot proceed with an incomplete form.”

They were at an impasse. The clerk sat behind her counter, clearly ready to wait as long as it took for Finn to miraculously develop a last name.

Rey rolled her eyes. “Oh, for heaven’s sake, just put Dameron,” she said. She elbowed him in the ribs. “Everyone knows it’s going to be Dameron eventually anyway.”

Finn was confused. Poe was blushing. Rey looked smug. “Wait … what?” Finn managed to say.

Rey shook her head, took the form from the clerk and wrote “DAMERON” in the space after “FINN,” then handed it back to the woman, who happily began inputting Finn’s information into her computer.

“I kind of wanted to take him home to meet my dad first,” Poe said to Rey. She smiled.

“I still don’t get it,” Finn said. “What am I missing?”

Poe pulled him aside, squeezing his hands. “You really are spectacularly naive sometimes,” he said with a gentle smile. He looked into Finn’s eyes and suddenly Finn knew this was important. “It’s customary to introduce someone to your family before you ask them to join it,” Poe said softly. 

It took a second, but then it clicked. “Oh!” 

Poe reached under the collar of his shirt, pulling out the chain that always hung around his neck, with his mother’s wedding ring dangling from it. He unfastened the clasp and held it out to Finn. “I’d hoped to do this somewhere more romantic — and maybe a little more private — but what do you say? Want to make it official?”

“Yes,” Finn said firmly. “Definitely yes.” Poe fastened the chain around his neck and then kissed him. 

Rey cleared her throat rather pointedly after a long moment. “Um, guys, I’m really happy for you and all, but we need to move on to the next counter.”

***********************  
They finally landed on Gael 23 and walked the short distance to the town where the Djarin family lived. Rey led the way, while Finn and Poe trailed behind her, holding hands in a decidedly un-general-like manner. She could see why the Djarins had come to this planet, if they were hiding from the First Order: aside from the bureaucratic ordeal on Gael 7, they’d had to dodge several rings of debris and a severe electromagnetic field to reach the surface of Gael 23. Anyone coming to this town really had to want to get there.

When they reached the house, Rey deferred to Poe to take the lead. Leia had left the mission to him, after all. 

The door was answered by a man who looked to be in his early thirties, with dark hair and eyes. “Mr. Djarin?” Poe asked. The man looked wary.

“Yes,” he said carefully. 

“General Poe Dameron of the Resistance,” Poe said, holding out his hand. “I’m here on behalf of General Organa.”

The man relaxed a bit. “Oh, you’re here to see my parents,” he said. “Please, come in.”

He opened the door and ushered them in, pausing only to look askance at BB-8. “Um, sorry, no droids. My dad’s got a thing about droids.”

BB beeped indignantly, but Poe shushed him with a hand motion. “Of course,” he said. “BB, wait out here, buddy.”

They stepped inside a modest, but very welcoming home. The door opened directly into a large general living area filled with comfortable furniture and a scattering of toys. “It’s okay,” Djarin called out as they walked into the room. “They’re from the Resistance.”

Three kids popped out from various doorways, followed by a woman about the same age as Djarin. “Should I get Grandpa and Grandma?” The oldest child asked, a boy about eleven years old.

“Yes, and your uncle,” Djarin said. “And call Aunt Mirdala. She might want to be here.”

************  
Poe was used to having an audience; after all, when you are a general, giving speeches to the troops is part of the job. But this was an unusual audience. Five adults, four kids and … one very small green person who was vaguely familiar. 

He cleared his throat, not quite sure where to begin. “I’m sure you’re wondering why we’re here. I’m General Poe Dameron, this is General Finn Dameron, and our friend Rey Skywalker. We’re here on behalf of General Leia Organa, who unfortunately is no longer with us.”

The man who had answered the door quickly introduced everyone. “I’m Cabur Djarin, this is my wife Talia, our children Mica, Bryn, and Danna, my sister Mirdala, her son Ronal, my parents, Din and Mariana … and my brother, Ad’ika.” He indicated the alien child, who was tucked between Din and Mariana. 

Din stood up and held out his hand to Poe. “Welcome,” he said. He was probably about the same age as Poe’s own father, early to mid 60’s, with a strong grip and a charming smile. “You’re here about Ad’ika, of course.” The smile wavered a bit.

“Yes,” Poe went on. “And no. I mean … yes, we’re here because of him, but no, we aren’t here to take him, if that’s what you’re afraid of.”

Everyone exchanged a look of relief and the level of tension in the room dropped sharply. Mariana jumped up and crossed the room to take Rey’s hand. “Your name is Skywalker,” she said. “Are you Luke’s daughter?”

Rey looked taken aback. “No, no relation, actually, but … he started my training. And now that he’s gone, it looks like I’ll be the one who’ll be training your … Ad’ika. Eventually.”

Finn rescued her. “Things are a bit of a mess right now, but Rey is trying to figure things out. And she’s training me, so by the time your son is ready, hopefully between the two of us, we’ll know what we’re doing.”

“Leia left instructions for us to let you know that the threat from the First Order has been eliminated,” Poe continued. “You don’t have to hide anymore. Palapatine, Kylo Ren … they’re both dead. So are Leia, and Luke, and a lot of other people.” He sighed. “Look, we just want you to know that you’re safe, and when the time comes, Rey and Finn — or one of their students — will be there for Ad’ika. Leia explained that his species ages much more slowly than our own, and it may be years before he’s ready.”

Mariana patted his arm. “Welcome to the clan,” she said.

“Clan?”

She pointed to a shiny piece of armor plate on a shelf against the wall. It was emblazoned with a stylized mudhorn skull, and propped next to it was a beautiful Mandalorian helmet. 

“Clan Mudhorn,” said Mirdala, proudly. “Dad used to be a Mandalorian.”

Suddenly, it all clicked. No wonder the little green guy seemed familiar. Poe looked between Din and Mariana and the beskar on the shelf. “Ever get that X-wing?” Din asked.

“Uh, yeah, actually, I did,” he stammered. “That was you?”

Finn stepped in. “What’s going on?”

“I met them when I was a kid,” Poe said. He closed his eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath. “They met my mom.” Finn took his hand and squeezed it tight. Poe opened his eyes. “She .. she died just a few months after that,” he went on quietly.

“I’m sorry,” said Mariana. She wrapped her arms around him and it felt good to sink into a motherly embrace again. “She was a lovely woman. And I’m sure she’d be proud of you.”

He sniffed back tears. “Yeah, I know she is.” 

After a moment of silence, Mariana released him from her embrace. “Well, now that we’re all family, let’s sit. Eat. Enjoy ourselves!”

Cabur and Talia disappeared to the kitchen to start preparing food, while Mirdala offered to make drinks. 

“I think I like this family,” Finn said in Poe’s ear. Poe couldn’t agree more.

**************************  
Finn sank back on the couch next to Mariana. Rey was still eating, and Poe was on the floor with the kids playing with some toy spaceships, reenacting the battle of Exegol.

“So,” Finn said quietly. “Tell me about Poe’s mom.”

Mariana reminded him a bit of Leia, but she wasn’t intimidating in the least. She bumped her shoulder against his and said, “I only met her briefly, but I really liked her. She seemed like the kind of person you could count on. I think we could have been friends.”

Finn nodded. “I wish I could have met her,” he said. “He doesn’t talk about her much, but I know he misses her. A lot.” He fingered the chain around his neck. He was still a bit overwhelmed that Poe had given it to him.

Mariana patted his arm. “We’ve all lost so many people; it’s important to cherish the time you have with the ones you’ve still got.” She smiled at him. “You’re young, you’ve got your whole lives ahead of you. When I was your age, I was a slave. My family had been killed by the Empire, and if anyone had told me then that I’d end up happily married, surrounded by grandkids, I’d have thought they were crazy.” 

“A couple of years ago, I was a First Order stormtrooper,” Finn confessed. “So I understand.” He looked at Rey and Poe. “If anyone had told me I’d have a friend, let alone a family, I’d have laughed at them.”

“I noticed you two have the same last name,” she said, nodding at Poe. 

Finn felt a blush spread over his face. “Well, not officially, not yet, but they wouldn’t let me past customs without a last name, so Rey suggested I just start using it now.”

“Send us an invitation to the wedding, okay?”

“Definitely.” Yes, Finn really did like this family.

*************************  
Yavin 4 was a beautiful planet. Rey always appreciated planets that had vegetation. After growing up on Jakku, she still found herself in awe of greenery. After a couple of days with the Djarin family, Poe had suggested they detour to Yavin before heading back to base. 

“You can drop me off back at base first,” she’d insisted. “You don’t need me tagging along while you introduce Finn to your dad.”

“No, I want you to meet him, too. And there’s another reason I think you should come, but it’s a surprise.”

Now they were approaching the Dameron farm as the sun began to set. The transport skimmer dropped them off at the gate and before the droid had even started the engine back up, the front door flew open and Kes Dameron came running out.

“Poe!”

“Dad!”

The two men embraced, and Rey felt a tear come to her eyes. She barely remembered this, the love of a parent and a child, but there were echos in her memory. She was glad that at least one of her friends still had a parent around.

“Dad,” Poe said. “This … this is Finn.” 

Kes didn’t hesitate to crush Finn in an embrace as well. “Welcome to the family, Finn.”

“Umm …” Finn muttered, clearly overwhelmed.

“And this is Rey,” Poe went on.

Kes let Finn go and pulled her in for a hug. This one wasn’t as exuberant, but Rey could see where Poe got his penchant for excellent hugs. It seemed that neither of the Dameron men held back when it came to expressing their emotions.

“Welcome, welcome,” Kes said as he released her. “Come on inside, before the bugs start biting.”

The house was just as comfortable as the Djarin home, but felt like it had been lonely. Kes showed them to their rooms so they could stow their bags, and then they gathered in the kitchen for the most delicious meal Rey had ever had. 

“If Poe cooks half as well as his father,” she whispered to Finn, “you guys can expect me over for dinner every night.”

“Deal,” Finn replied. 

After the meal, Kes suggested they retire to the screened in back porch for drinks, but Poe had another idea.

“I’m going to show Rey the tree first,” he said.

“You really want to leave me alone with your boyfriend?” Kes teased.

“Fiancé,” Poe corrected. “And yeah, I don’t think you’re going to scare him off.” He held out his hand to Rey and led her outside.

“A tree?” She asked. “Really?”

“I told you I had a surprise for you,” he said. “Come on.”

They walked across the yard and through a small gate in the back fence. The path dropped down along the slope of the low hill the house was built on. Near the bottom, they stepped between two flowering shrubs and entered a clearing. In the center of it was a large tree that practically shimmered in the gloom. Rey could _feel_ the tree and she gasped with delight.

“It’s a Force Tree,” Poe said. “Luke Skywalker gave it to my mom when it was a sapling. It’s been growing here practically my whole life. I thought you’d like to see it … and we can take a cutting before we leave. If you and Finn are going to revive the legacy of the Jedi, I think you’re going to need a bit of help.”

Rey wrapped her arms around her friend. “Thank you, Poe,” she said. This time the tears flowed freely down her face. “It’s … it’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”

“You’re welcome,” Poe said, kissing her cheek. “I know I get on your nerves sometimes, and there’s the whole Kylo Ren thing, but … you’re part of the family, too. I’ve known for a while that you and Finn are kind of a package deal.”

“Can I stay out here?” She asked. “You guys won’t mind?”

“Stay out as long as you like,” he said. “You know the way back to the house. We’ll leave the back door unlocked for you.” He hugged her again. “I’d better go rescue Finn from my dad’s interrogation or he might decide to give me the ring back.”

“That will never happen, and you know it,” she teased. “If anyone in the galaxy was destined to be together, it’s you and Finn. Now, go.”

Poe left and she walked forward until she stood under the tree. There was no breeze, but the leaves rustled lightly as she approached. With each step, she felt the Force flow through her more strongly. When she reached the trunk, she laid her hand against the smooth bark and closed her eyes.

“Be with me,” she whispered.

The tree seemed to sway a little, and she gasped. When she opened her eyes, the clearing was glowing with the ethereal blue light that always accompanied a visit from a Force ghost. She caught glimpses of Luke, Leia, and the other Jedi who had helped her defeat Palpatine, but there was one figure that stood out clearly. He was tall, dark-haired, and his face lit up with a smile that she’d only seen once before.

“Ben,” she said. “I finally found you.”

His embrace wasn’t as substantial as the ones she’d gotten from Kes and Poe Dameron earlier, but she didn’t care. Leaves fluttered down from the tree, catching in their hair, as their lips met for the second time. The Force bond between them strengthened and she knew she would have no trouble reaching him now. 

“Tell Dameron I’m sorry for everything I did to him,” Ben whispered in her ear. 

“I will,” she said. “Every day, until he finally forgives you.”

Ben laughed. “I hope you’re planning to live a long time, then,” he said. “That could take a while.”

“The war’s over,” she said. “We have all the time we need.”


End file.
